The Consequences of Falling
by perilousgard
Summary: A look at season one through Bolin's perspective. Bolin-centric, but with heavy Bolin/Korra tones.


_Author's Note: __I wrote this mainly out of frustration at the lack of character development for Bolin throughout this season. We're at the finale and we still don't know what's been going on in this kid's head since episode 5. Also, though I tried to be nice to Mako in this, it's probably glaringly obvious that I really don't like him._

**The Consequences of Falling**

Bolin fell in love too easily. At least, that was what his brother told him.

And maybe he did. At the age of sixteen, he'd had his heart broken a fair few times, and he couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong. Mako sometimes told him it was because he was too nice, but Bolin didn't see how it was possible to be _too nice. _But it didn't matter; he couldn't act any other way. He had tried the "cool guy" act that seemed to work for Mako, but he hadn't been very good at it. He figured he just had to wait around for the right girl, the special one, who would love him exactly the way he was, goofiness and all.

But that didn't stop him from falling in love too fast.

So, when he was walking through the gym inside the probending arena and spotted the tall, beautiful water tribe girl, Bolin tried to resist. He paused as he was passing by, his head telling his feet to keep going while his heart warred with them to stay. In the end, as usual, his heart won.

"It's okay, Toza! She's with me."

There really _was _something special about Korra, and it wasn't just that she was the Avatar.

It was the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, and the way they seemed to challenge him even when he wasn't trying to impress her. It was the way they seemed to work so in sync with one another, earth and water, during their matches. It was the way that he wasn't afraid to be himself around her, because he knew she accepted it and even enjoyed it. Not just any girl would burp like that in the middle of a date.

Of course, he should have known that it wouldn't be long before Mako realized she was special too, but he still hadn't expected to walk in on the two of them kissing just hours after his brother had told him rather flatly that he wasn't interested in Korra.

The betrayal stung, even more than the rice wine that he gulped down when he found himself back at the noodle joint that night. Every miserable thought that Bolin had ever had about his brother came floating to the surface with his inebriation, every instance where he had clearly felt himself to be in Mako's shadow. He had never had that feeling so strongly as he did now, but it was mainly because for the first time, his brother had blatantly lied to him. They were each other's only family left, and they had never had any reason to lie to each other.

When Mako found him, he wished he could stop crying.

One of the things Bolin was thankful for about himself was that he bounced back quickly.

Though he still woke sometimes in terror from dreams about being forced into the back of a van and then onto a brightly lit stage, and though he still shivered when he heard Amon's voice on the radio, he wasn't afraid to go up against the Equalists. And though Mako hadn't apologized for kissing the girl he loved (Spirits help him, he _loved _her) or cheating on the one he was actually dating, Bolin forgave him. It was clear to him now that Korra had been interested in Mako since she had first joined their team anyway, and he couldn't fault her for not returning his feelings.

The thing that he hated about bouncing back quickly is that it didn't erase the feelings. Not by a long shot.

When Korra was kidnapped, Bolin's heart leapt into his throat and stayed there.

But unlike Mako, it wasn't impatience and desperation that fueled his search for her. He _was _desperate to find her, but Bolin had been confident in the Avatar's capabilities ever since the first day he had trained with her. If anyone was capable of getting themselves out of this mess, it was Korra. Even so, Bolin found it hard to swallow as he traveled through the underground tunnels with Lin Beifong leading the way.

In the end – just as he knew she could – Korra saved herself. The huge amount of relief Bolin felt to see her again, obviously weak and wounded but alive, was so overwhelming that his legs shook. And that only made it easier for Mako to push him aside as he stepped up to pull Korra from Naga's back.

Bolin loved his brother, but he couldn't have been more embarrassed by him when he saw the disgruntled look on Tenzin's face and the hurt reflected in Asami's bright eyes. The tense silence that fell around them as Mako carried Korra off was so heavy that he could almost feel it.

"He's just glad she's all right," Bolin said, and he wondered how much longer he was going to be able to defend Mako's actions.

Korra was taken back to Air Temple Island to heal. Mako didn't even want to let her out of his sight, but Tenzin told him firmly that the Avatar needed rest, and so did everyone else. Bolin lay awake long after the island had gone quiet, staring up at the ceiling, and finally got up and made his way quietly to the other side of the house, where Korra's room was.

Bolin had never been very good at keeping his footsteps quiet; he was a big guy, and didn't have a light tread. As he neared Korra's room, he prayed he wouldn't wake her up. Maybe he should have waited until she was awake, or at least more rested.

But of course she was sleeping like the dead. Her hair was down and falling across her face, and for a moment he was struck simply by how beautiful she looked like that. He felt weird, hovering at her door while she slept, like he was intruding on her privacy. If she woke up and saw him there, he wouldn't know what to say. Still, something carried his feet inside the room and made him stop beside her bed.

In the pale moonlight streaming in through the window, he could make out one long, thin cut down the side of her face – the only visible scar he could see. He wanted to reach out and brush his fingers against it, to stroke her hair back the way Mako had, but something stopped him.

Instead, he sat down in the chair next to bed and allowed the full weight of his relief that she was alive to hit him like a ton of rocks.

Korra couldn't drive to save her life, and Bolin thought it was adorable.

(He secretly thought he'd take care of those parking tickets later.)

Bolin didn't like the look on Korra's face when she saw the airships descending on the city.

It was a look that said, _this is all my fault._

It was a look that said, _I failed._

It was a look that said, _I'm not strong enough._

Bolin wanted to tell her, _No it's not, you could never, _and _you're the strongest, toughest, buffest, most beautiful girl I've ever known. _

He supposed she might have forgotten he'd already told her that last one.


End file.
